Skyrim: Ailiea's Tale
by Alice Liddell
Summary: This is the story of an Aldmeri Dominion soldier and her eventual journey through Skyrim, of all of the horrors she's seen and visited upon others, and how her fate will forever be tied to the Empire, Skyrim, Ulfric Stormcloak, and the Dovahkiin.
1. Chapter 1

**Having read so many stories of the tales of others in Skyrim, I decided to add my own which is only in part based on what hppened in the game. In order to avoid retelling the story as it unfolds, this story is only loosly based on the events in the game. Please read, review, and enjoy. Comments are always welcome here.**

* * *

The sky was blackened in a fiery fog and smoke and the sickly sweet smell of blood and death hung low in the heated air on the day the Imperial City fell to the armies of the Aldmeri Dominion. The soldiers of the Dominion, who had drunk deeply in the glory of their victory, savagely ripped through the very heart of the laid open and relatively unprotected city. They fell upon it and violated every decency and every sanctity found therein like a blood crazed wolf amongst the virgin sheep in the dead of the night, when no one's around to protect their innocence. An orgy of blood and chaos followed in their wake as the city was razed in a fiery inferno which engulfed all in sight as they fell upon those who were unfortunate enough to still be found here.

Those many poor and pitiful souls who could not escape with the others when the 8th Legion was scattered before the wind and the12th Legion and most of the Nord Auxiliaries were massacred upon the very foothills of the city. So many Legionaries and Nords who had died that the waters of the Rumare Lake were tainted with the blood of the fallen for days and days long after the last of them had perished. All cows, sheep and horses and all other manner of livestock were slaughtered in order to feed the Dominion Soldiers who ate all that the sons and daughters of Cyrodiil could give, and took all of that which they could not.

And when this was no longer enough to satisfy them, the soldiers turned on them and slaughtered the sons of Cyrodiil and made whores of their wives and daughters so that there were no longer any left pure amongst them. Many were made pregnant with the seeds of the Altmer young, so that many thousands of them threw themselves into the bloodied waters of the Rumare Lake that they may never bare the wicked young into the world. Once these acts, surly straight out of Oblivion itself, had run their course, there were none left on the streets of the Imperial City save for the Dominion's Soldiers. So had the Imperial city been so fully ravaged that this period was to be forever remembered in Imperial History as the Days of Blood.

In these days, Ailiea had been a soldier of the Dominion's Armies, and was not only present in all of the aforementioned horrors which had taken place, but had been so fully involved that her hands were to be forever tainted in the blood of the innocent. While this was all taking place, she had drank deeply of the blood which flowed so freely of the people that the Vampire's hunger which she had tried so desperately to hide was always fed and thus safely hidden from her officers, for even in the Dominion were Vampires hunted and murdered as the foul abominations they were often thought of.

Once the Days of Blood had ended and a relative peace had settled over the ruined city, she began to grow hungrier and hungrier, day by day so that she soon requested to be placed on prisoner detail. It was decided that, since she was not only fluent on the tongues spoken in Cyrodiil, but also those of Skyrim and Morrowind as well, that she would be best suited for such a position. On the outskirts of the City, in what had been a Mage's College were several men held as prisoners of war. These unfortunate few left alive who were identified as being of noble blood and who were thus likely to be used in the diplomatic acts. Unfortunate were they, for as opposed to being killed like the others, these men were instead tortured slowly and steadily, day after day, sometimes that they may give up some vital piece of intelligence to the Thalmer, sometimes for no apparent reason whatsoever. Thus was it so that the blood which she so desperately needed would always be readily available to her, and she may continue to hide herself in peace. This is where her tale truly begins.

* * *

Here, in this place fully hidden from the sun, it was always dimly lit. She walked about the room with the soldiers under her charge always following closely in her wake, as had become her daily regiment. The men before her feet, trapt in their little cages held in their breath until such a time as she had walked past them by, so signifying that she had not decided upon them. Several times did she circle the room in silence until her eyes fell upon one amongst them; the one. He was to be the one for today. Her eyes had nearly passed him by, but returned and rested on him, as there was something about him. Unlike the others, who avoided her cold and sadistic gaze, he started her down, his piercing blue eyes slowly burning a hole right through her. There was an air of pride and nobility which was clearly lacking in all the others around him.

For a while, Ailiea was caught in his hypnotizing gaze, drawn into it like a moth to its death by the flame, before she came back to herself and ordered the soldiers to pull him from his cage and stand him before her, before her table with the instruments used to make men spill their guts in the worst of ways. Once this was done and his hands were bound behind his back, she removed her dagger from its sheath, and placed it before his neck like she had meant to slit it wide open. But he stood before her, too proud to flinch, or even look at her, so instead he held his ground and stared blankly at bloodied walls before him. Sensing the pride irradiating off of his body, she slowly removed the dagger from his neck and slowly and sensually moved it down his body, cutting away his tunic as it went so that soon, he had nothing covering his torso at all; still he did not move. He just stood there in the cold room, as she took in the sight of him. He was a large man, with very broad shoulders and a thick, muscular Nord build and who easily stood over six feet. Indeed, he towered over her more meager frame. His long, blond hair was pulled back before him and he by now had a very dirty, disheveled beard. It had been weeks since he had been allowed to bathe, yet he had a very masculine aroma about his person which quite excited Ailiea. Truly a magnificent specimen if she had ever seen one.

"Hhhmmm, what have the Gods given to me this day.", Ailiea idly mused to herself aloud, all while she toyed with her new plaything. She touched her free hand to his chest and was taken aback by how warm it was. She could feel the beating of his human heart under her fingertips. She then slowly moved her hands down, across his abs, and kept going until she felt of his manhood under his trousers. "My my. Quite a man you are.", she spoke to him, staring at his eyes. But still he did not move. He continued to stare at the wall behind her and ignored her. She was no longer amused. She removed her hand from his body and went to the table next to him. Staring at her tools, she asked him in a decidedly colder and less playful voice, "What is your name, Nord?". Still nothing. "No? You still refuse to speak, Nord? Perhaps you will be able to hold your tongue, no matter what I do onto you, but it doesn't matter. Even in silence I will still learn what I need to". Then, from behind him, came a shout, "Don't tell the Altmer bitch anything, Ulfric! Show her that Nords are made of tougher things then them!". There it was. He had given himself away, even if he hadn't meant to, even if he hadn't realized it yet.

When he heard that voice calling out to him, his neck and his mouth betrayed him as they twitched in hearing the familiar voice calling out to him. He strained in a vain effort to keep himself still and regain his composure, but it was too late; she had already seen it. "See what I mean? I haven't even had to touch you yet and already I am learning so much. Bring him,", she motioned to the soldiers at the one who was foolish enough to speak out of line. Already an involuntary look found itself spread out across Ulfric's face as he held in anticipation for the horror which was about to unfold. The soldiers took the man, still streaming for Ulfric to speak no words and brought them before Ailiea. She swiped clean the table of all her little tools and moved it from Ulfric's side so that it was now in front of him and back far enough to where he could easily view it. Next, she had the soldiers force the mad to crouch on the table so that his torso and his head were well rested against the surface of the table.

Once this was done, much to Ulfric's utter horror, she took a spear and held it's blade upon the flames of a torch until it was heated. As she did this, she motioned for the soldiers to cut away the screaming man's trousers that he be left fully exposed to her. Ulfric saw what was unfolding and immediately moved to aid his friend, but two more soldiers appeared from out of the darkness and held him at bay, yet still he spoke no words. "No! No! Ulfric, worry not for me, tell the bitch nothing and I shall see you again in Sovengarde!", the man on the table cried out to him. With a worried expression on his face all the while, all Ulfric could do nothing but watch of what was about to happen. Now that the blade of the spear was heated to her satisfaction, she walked over to the man on the table and kicked his legs further apart, all the while the man continued to yell and grunt in defiance, in spite of the terrible knowledge of what was about to happen upon his person next; a braver Nord there could not have been.

Though the man had been yelling, all who were present could remember only silence as the scene somehow seemed to sublime to be real to them, but this silence was not to last. Once she was in position behind the man on the table, there came a terrible cry, the Nord had finally decided to speak at last, "I am Ulfric Stormcloak!". She was stopped in her tracks by his decision to speak. Then, suddenly and without warning, the Nord opened his mouth once again as if to speak once more, though what came from his mouth was unlike any words which she had ever heard before. From his mouth there came a cry, far mightier and far more terrible than any of the strongest winds, which seemed to have emanated from the Nord who was called Ulfric. It was a terrible cry which sounded to her something like, "Fus Ro Dah!".

Within the blinking of an eye she found herself upon the floor before the wall on the far side of the room. All the air had been knocked from her lungs and she struggled to regain her breath. Her vision had become somewhat blurry, but as it slowly returned to her the world around herself seemed to be moving so very slowly. But the one thing which stood out to her the most was the sight of the one called Ulfric, who had somehow made himself free and tossed away her soldiers. Once he had managed this, he began to make his way to her, at cold, crazed gaze fixed in his icy blue eyes. So this is what it was like to stare down the very face of death itself, she thought as she used the spear still in her hands to lift herself off the of the dirty, bloodstained stone floor. Once she had regained herself, he was very nearly on her, and so seeing the danger which she now found herself in, she felt compelled to use her Vampiric abilities and drain the hard charging Nord of his very life essence.

Ulfric found himself engulfed in a bloody red mist and all at once began to feel his strength betray him and evaporate from his person. He stopped his charge on Ailiea and all at once found himself upon the stone floor, with barely enough strength to move. While he was there upon the floor, all he saw was the soldiers regain themselves and move at him, and upon reaching him, they proceeded to beat him severely. It was nearly more than he could bare, to be so severely beaten and fully lack the strength to fight back and defend himself. While the soldiers beat him, they also had the foresight to gag him that he may not use such power on them again. Ulfric felt that they would beat him until he had died, until he saw Ailiea standing before him, motioning for the soldiers to withdraw from his person. Once she had cleared them all away, she returned to the man on the table, and made her way fully behind him once more. By now Ulfric fully understood what it was that she was going to do, and he began to scream something fiercely in spite of his apparent and utter lack of strength. It was as though he had meant to pull Ailiea's attention away from his friend, but it did not work. Giving him a sickly sweet and deceptive smile, she then returned her attention to the man on the table, who had by now resumed his shrieks and screams. She moved the spear with the heated blade back and proceeded to force it up the man's rectum.

Blood immediately flowed from out of the violated orifice, as well as the sickening sound of burning flesh. The man on the table buckled under the pain and his legs gave way from under his body, but he did not fall, as Ailiea was holding tightly to the spear which was holding him up. He screamed and screamed and shrieked and he never let up. Tears flowed from his eyes, all while Ailiea contemplated to herself about how odd it was to see a grown man cry out. His cries and wails echoed across the entire length of the room and so filled it with a maddening sensation that it fully caused Ulfric to shake violently. It was more than he could stand to watch, so he pulled his head in tight and closed his eyes. But Ailiea saw this and ordered the soldiers to move his head back that he may continue to watch, like it or not. Once this was done and Ulfric's gaze was once again upon her, she pulled the spear from the man's rectum and blood and shit fell upon the floor before her feet. The man on the table was still screaming in fury and pain.

He could no longer stand and he collapsed onto the floor before the table, next to her and rolled up into a ball. He was no longer yelling now, only weeping as he had gone into shock. Now it was Ulfric who was doing his damndest to scream from behind the rags which bound his mouth, but this Ailiea ignored. Instead, she removed a mace from its wall mount and walked over to the man before the table. She looked at Ulfric once, smiled her sickly sweet smile again, and proceeded to beat the man again and again across his head until all of his brains had been splattered across the stone floor. Once this was done, she began to lick clean the mace of that which covered it's surface, all the blood and the brain matter, as if it were a delectable sweet roll.

The sight of this caused Ulfric to cry out from behind his bonds with a renewed furor, almost as if he had never been drained of his strength at all. But alas, this struggle was in vain as the soldiers simply held him in place so that he could not move. He knew that he would be next, so he slowly began to regain his composure so that he may face whatever may come with the bravery of a true Nord. But Ailiea never came to him. Instead, she motioned for the soldiers to return Ulfric to his cage. This they did, dropping him hard against the floor, but making sure to keep his hands and his mouth bound. With the task at hand completed, Ailiea simply made her way from the room, and that was it.

* * *

When the day had ended and darkness descended upon the land once more, Ulfric lay upon the floor of his cage, never moving. He was fully alive, alert, and awake. He was simply drained far more than he could ever remember having been. He simply lacked the will to move from his lowly spot upon the cold, cold stone floor. Though none of the soldiers were able to recognize the sort of magic the Altmer woman had wielded against him for what it truly was, Ulfric was not so naive. He had seen it all before, had slain her kind before; he knew exactly what she was, the Vampiric bitch. As he thought this over in his head, he heard a stirring coming from off of the shadows of the wall across from his cage. Slowly moving his head and looking forward that he may be made aware of whatever it was which had disturbed his sanctity this late, he was greeted with the sight of darkness and shadows and nothing more; No one was there.

Yet his instincts told him different, and he had learned long ago to always trust his instincts, so he continued to stare into the dark void. At first he still saw nothing, but only at first. Soon, though, he became all too keenly aware of the tiniest hint of movement, so small that he was somewhat surprised that he had even seen it. As he continued to stare at the movement, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness to the point that he was able to see more and more of the movement until he was confident he was able to make out the human-esque form hiding within it. Someone had used a cloaking spell and was sneaking about, and he felt confident that it was the Altmer woman, no doubt on the prowl for food. Yes, that must be it, for the more he thought of it, the more it made sense. Where better to feed if one were a Vampire than off of the blood of ill fated prisoners of war so that if they were to die, no one would take notice.

And so he watched from the shadows of his cage as Ailiea, who was indeed cloaked, made her way quietly through the room, searching out the weakest amongst them. It was not long before she found one. This one was so weak and powerless and would no doubt be dead within a fortnight anyway. Slowly and quietly, she unsecured the latch to his cage and made her way over to his pathetic form, which was sprawled out over the cold stone floor. By the time she reached him, it was clear to Ulfric that she was no longer cloaked and he was right all along; it was the Altmer woman from earlier. The man in the cage was very cold and he was wheezing very loudly; not once did he look up to her. So she joined him there upon the floor and slowly proceeded to tilt his head to the side ever so slightly. He took notice of this, and with a hushed grunt of resistance, he tried to fight her off, but alas this was to no avail. When his neck was at a satisfactory position, she pressed her tongue tauntingly against his skin and began to lick the spot on his neck like a cat. Though he was afraid and quivering with the fear of anticipation, he fully lacked the strength to cry out as she had him trapt.

Once she had decided that she had had enough of playing with her food, she then pressed her lips against the place on his neck and sank her fangs deeply into the poor man. He jumped at surprise when the fangs entered his neck, and as she started to drain him of his very life essence, he began to grow increasingly limp until finally he lay lifeless in her arms. But so great was her thirst that she continued to drain the blood from his body until there wasn't any left for him to give. From the shadows Ulfric watched as the Altmer woman finished devouring her prey. Once she had satisfied her hunger, she sat up and leaned her head back and seemed to stair directly up at the ceiling.

She was breathing deeply, and her eyes slowly began to close as a sort of euphoric shiver worked its way up her back. So strong was her urge to cry out in ecstasy that she had to place her wrist upon her mouth and bite down hard that she drew blood in order to silence herself. When the urge had passed her by, she fell to the floor, and remained there for quite some time until her breathing returned to its normal form. Once it had done this, the Altmer woman slowly stood and made for the deceased man upon the floor. Covering her fang marks with a rag tied around his neck, she then slowly and quietly made her way from the cage, securing it as she left, and slowly made her way back through the shadows of the corridor. As she passed through the shadows once more, it became apparent to Ulfric that she had once again cloaked herself as she became harder and harder to follow until he could no longer see her at all.

* * *

The next morning, Ulfric was awakened by the sounds of Soldiers going about their work so that he rolled around and sat up as best he could so as to be able to see the goings on. He saw, at the far end of the room, a soldier drag the body of a man who had died in the night, and who had a rag tied around his neck for reasons unknown, from his cage. Once he had removed the body, he placed the crippled form upon his shoulders and carried him from the room. Now fully alert, Ulfric began to replay in his mind all that he saw the day before; all that he had learned, about the Altmer woman, and about how he knew that Vampires were hunted, even in the Aldmeri Dominion.

He thought about all of this, and he hatched a plan. Not but a few hours later, the Captain of the Guard entered the room with the cages on his usual tour of duty. Ulfric watched him with great intent, and he waited. He waited and he prayed to the nine that the Captain had a strong enough grasp of the Nord tongue, which would have been typical of all those who worked with POWs, waiting for the Captain to walk by his cage. Once the Captain was in front of his cage, Ulfric lunged himself as best he could into the walls of his cage, so as to gain the Captain's attention. Upon hearing the crash, the Captain wheeled around and proceeded to stare down Ulfric. As Ulfric was still gagged from the day past, all he could do was mumble loudly to the Captain and hoped that he could convey onto him that he wished to speak.

The Captain stayed where he was and gazed at Ulfric with a curious expression until his curiosity finally got the better of his senses and he ordered the soldiers to remove Ulfric's bonds. They looked worriedly at each other and did not move. Having noticed this, the Captain then realized that the man must have been so bound for a reason. So he ordered them to place one soldier behind the man with orders to kill him where he crouched if he attempted anything. Once this was done and Ulfric was unbound, he fell to the floor, breathing heavily and massaged his wrists where upon he had been bound.

The Captain stood before him with his arms crossed and waited for a time until he grew impatient, so he spoke in the Nord tongue, "I assume for your sake that you have something urgent to tell me, Nord.". Ah, so he was familiar with the Nord tongue.

In his mind, Ulfric thanked the nine. Finally finding the words in his mind, Ulfric answered him, "How do you feel about Vampires.". The Captain raised an eyebrow to the question, but gave not an answer, so Ulfric went on, "I assume that since we are all noblemen locked up down here, you need as many of us alive as possible for diplomatic leverage. But I also know that far too many of us have been dying in the night as of late. So I ask you again; how do you feel about Vampires.". The Captain took in his words and contemplated them. Though the Captain had not wanted to admit it, the man was right. They had been losing far too many of these noblemen in the night as of late, and with no apparent cause, though a Vampire did seem a logical explanation. "Where is this Vampire.", the Captain demanded of him.

"Now, now; let us not be too hasty. In exchange for such information, I would need something in return.", Ulfric demanded of him.

"I am curious, Nord; what prevents me from having the information extracted from you by force?"

"I do not deny that this would be possible, though I promise you that I would hold out as long as I could or until death takes me, which ever may come first. In the meantime, you would still be losing the Noblemen that you so desperately need for your diplomatic whims. Though I may be of well means I am no one of any significance. All I ask of you is my release."

The Captain though things though for a while, before finally he gave Ulfric an answer, "Such decisions are over my head, I shall have to discuss such things with my Superiors.". Ulfric smiled; he knew he had the Vampiric bitch now.

* * *

Ailiea entered the Captain of the Guard's office and stood before him at attention and clicked the heels of her boots together, "Guardsman Ailiea reporting as ordered, sir.". Before her sat the Captain of the Guard and behind her stood two soldiers. As it was hardly unusual for the Captain of the Guard to have any number of soldiers always in his office, she hardly took notice of them. For the briefest of moments, the Captain said nothing; he just stared her down with an icy glare that cut right through her and caused a cold chill to run through the entire length of her back and so made her shudder.

Though she could feel the tension mounting all around in the air, as a Guardsman, all she could do was stand there and indulge the Captain's whims. Finally the Captain stood and slowly made his way before her, his icy gaze never leaving her. He was tall and stood several inches above her so that he now had to look down at her. Once he was in front of her, he forcefully placed his hand over her left breast and applied pressure. She was so taken aback that she tried to back away from him, but he just placed his other arm behind her and forced her forward once more. She was so confused as to what was going on and it made her so nervous so that it caused her breathing to pick up.

The Captain held his hand over her breast for a time, and upon feeling not the semblance of any heartbeat, he ran his hand along the length of her jaw, extending his fingers to the corner of her lips. Ailiea began to catch up to just what it was he was looking for so that she began to fight to secure her safety. But all the Captain did was call the two soldiers to them and had them hold her that she may not move. He then forced her lips open and began searching. It did not take him long to find her fangs as they quite stood out from the rest of her teeth and he let out a grunt of discovery once he saw them. She closed her eyes and looked away from him for she knew that she had been caught, she only wondered how. "So, all this time...", was all he said to her before he ordered the soldiers to take her way. She went with them willingly so as to protect what dignity she had left for as long as possible. They took her to a tent on the outskirts of the camp, stripped her of her armor and her weapons and tied her wrists to one of the support beams that she may not make good the escape they knew she had been contemplating.

Once this was done, the soldiers posted in front of her and proceeded to stare her down, though neither one ever dared to approach her. She just kneeled before them, naked and humiliated, and though they never spoke not a word to her, she could feel their gazes upon her naked form. She could feel their eyes inch their way across every private part of her body imaginable. She felt so low and wanted to cry out, but her pride so prevented her from doing this. Before long, the sun had started setting and the darkness of night began to descend upon the camp. From outside the tent, she could hear a small group of men approaching and into the tent walked none other than Prince Elenmiar of the Royal Family of the Dominion himself. Him and all his senior staff, for in those days, it was expected that a member of the Royal Family should personally lead the armies into battle.

As the overall Commanding General of the Dominion's 8th Guards Army, which had secured the Imperial City, it became his task to oversee the disciplinary action of the worst of his troops personally. When she saw him, her unbeating heart sank down to the lowest part of her being, for she knew that only the General himself could authorize her execution, and his very presence here seemed to indicate just that. So it was that not he, but his Aide-de-camp, came forward and read aloud her charge sheet, "Guardsman Ailiea, having been so found out as being a Vampire, and for the unlawful murders of no less than twenty three valuable prisoners of war in less than a fortnight, General of the 8th Guards Army of the Dominion, Prince Elenmiar does so authorize that you be executed for your crimes by beheading upon the first light of morning. Do you have anything you wish to say at this time.". All in attendance waited for Ailiea to give her answer, but she gave them none. She just looked away from them and stared at the floor. So it was that another of the Prince's aids, the Judicator, looked over to the Aide-de-camp and spoke in her stead, "Please note on the charge sheet that the Defendant has refused to speak.".

"So noted.", answered the Aide-de-camp, as he dictated this on her charge sheet as he was ordered to do.

Once he had finished, he handed the charge sheet over to the Judicator, who gave it one last look-over before he in turn spoke," With it so dictated that the Defendant has refused to speak her peace, then with the blessings and permission of the General,", at which time he looked back at the Prince, who nodded his approval, and he continued on, " I do hereby order these proceedings come to a close. May the Gods take pity on your twisted, deranged soul, Vampire.". And with that, the entire procession turned and was about to leave the tent, when all hell came crashing down around them. As they turned, and while the soldiers were distracted, Ailiea, with a strength she scarcely knew she possessed, took hold of the support beam and pulled it from the ground with such force that it loosened her bonds in the process and he entire tent came crashing down upon them. so freed, and with a heart burning for vengeance, she made her way forward, hell bent on murdering the first person she came across. When at last she found him, she turned him over, only to realize that she was staring down the Prince himself.

When he saw here, he began to cry out, but seeing this, she quickly placed a hand upon his mouth, leaned down, and sank her fangs into his neck with such a speed that he did not have a chance to react. She hovered over him, draining him of his life essence until he at last went limp in his arms, so signifying his death. Once she had finished feeding off of the dead man's body, she looked up and was met with the shocked expression of one of the soldiers who had somehow manage to find her, even through the cover which chaos had afforded her. He saw the Prince, dead in her arms, her face dripping of his still fresh blood, and so he screamed, and in so doing raised the alarm as to what had just transpired.

She hesitated not even for a reached out with her bare hands and ripped the throat from his body and was immediately covered in his blood, which was still warm and fresh. Upon doing this, she turned and she ran from under the cover of the collapsed tent and ran made good on her escape, naked and covered in the blood of others. Little did she know that on that very same night, Ulfric Stormcloak was released from the tower and granted his freedom at last. He made his way north to Bruma, where he rested for a few days before crossing the Jerall mountains and at last made his way home to Skyrim. Because all lands west of the Niben bay had been occupied by the Armies of the Dominion, she made her way east, eventually ending up in Cheydinhal. And it was here where her new life, away from the Dominion, was to begin...


	2. Chapter 2

The 8th Guards Army of the Dominion was destroyed. Not but days after Ailiea had left the Army for good, General Aurelius force marched the Empire's 6th Legion south from Bruma and surprised them upon the field of battle before the remnants of the Imperial City. The 8th Guards Army had grown complacent in victory and their situation confused by the sudden death of Prince Elenmiar and in this state, had simply lost track of the 6th Legion's movements so that when they appeared before them on the field of battle, the 6th Legion cut through them with an unequaled ease. They were not even given the chance to form battle lines before the Legionaries were upon them and it was all over.

Not long after the Dominion had lost an entire army upon the outskirts of the Imperial City, the decimated remnants of the 8th Legion under General Occultis stormed the City of Skingrad and so liberated it from Dominion control. Thus had the way to the cities of Kvatch and Anvil been opened to the Imperial Legion, as these cities had been only lightly garrisoned by Dominion Troops. With the 1st, 3rd, and 13th Legions force marching from eastern Cyrodiil to join in battle, Dominion control in the region was quickly fading. Although at this point all looked to be going in favor of the Empire, it was good to remember that the Dominion still held Valenwood and Elsweyr and was gaining ground in Hammerfell.

Not long after this, however, just when the war looked to be escalating with the Legion forcing the Dominion out of Cyrodiil, the White-Gold Concordant was signed between the warring parties and the Great War was ended. In accordance with the Dominion pledges signed on in the White-Gold Concordant, elements of the Dominion's 4th Army withdrew from the cities of Kvatch and Anvil and crossed into Valenwood while the Dominion's 7th Army and 9th Guards Army withdrew from Bravil and Leyawiin respectively and crossed into Elsweyr. And so it came to pass that all Dominion troops had either been destroyed or had simply left Cyrodiil and the region settled into a relative peace.

* * *

Not but a few days after Ailiea had made good her escape from camp, she had found some rags to clothe herself with. Rags which had included a hood that she may hide her ears from sight, as she was sure by now that she had crossed into Legion lines and had so desperately wanted to avoid being captured by Legionaries. As she walked upon the roads leading north, leaving the Imperial City behind her and only in distant memory, she came upon a large group of people who had with them all of their belongings placed upon wagons and on the backs horses, and anything else which could be used to transport their worldly wares.

Some carried this all on their very backs and on the backs of their wives and children as the necessity of their situations dictated upon them. These were the war refugees. The ones who had fled their homes and their farms and shops, all they had ever known so as to avoid becoming collateral damage in the battles which were being fought all around them in the war which was being waged all across their lands. Thousands of them had fled and were making their way around the Rumare Lake. Some headed north, for the safety of Bruma and possibly even into Skyrim, while others headed east and were making for the sanctity of Cheydinhal.

So it came to pass that Ailiea, doing as best she could to conceal her heritage, joined them and made her way with them. As time went on, she came to know some of them well, like the merchant who had a son in the Imperial Legion and who had left his home in Skingrad when word came that the Dominion had broken through and was marching on the city. She laughed a little on the inside as he told her this, as she had been in the Dominion's armies marching on Skingrad back then as he had been hurriedly packing to flee, though of course he had no way of knowing this.

Or even the barkeep who had provided all her wines and mead to the soldiers of the Legion in the Imperial City, before it was lost, who were parched from the long retreat from Bravil, and just days before they were in turn all slaughtered upon the field of battle. Ailiea would never have told her this, but she felt certain almost beyond any doubt, that she had somehow been involved in their deaths upon the field of battle. Ailiea had felt it quite curious to now see the war from the prospective of her enemies. It filled her with a certain wholesome knowledge that she, before all others, understood the war from all its complicated angles. She often thought of how odd it was that her fate would be so closely linked to these people, who were but strangers to her but days ago.

Soon they felt comfortable enough around Ailiea that on one occasion, the kindly told her that they knew she was an Altmer, lest so far as they knew. She was taken aback by their words and she wore a look of surprise and great concern in her face so that they told her she had no need to worry for her safety so long as she traveled with them. Small numbers of Altmer had always lived in Cyrodiil and because of this her appearance there amongst them was not all together surprising, so that when they saw her, they had naturally assumed that she must have been one of these. They felt they quite understood her reasoning for hiding her heritage, for as soon as Dominion troops invaded Cyrodiil, many hundred of Altmer citizens who had lived here were lynched by their decidedly no longer friendly neighbors.

Though there were occasional bursts of happiness while they were on the road, the overall mood of the group in which Ailiea was traveling on was decidedly more somber overall. Then there came the day when they passed the 6th Legion as it force marched south from Bruma. All the people whom she was with cheered with wild abandon was their brave soldiers marched by in lock-step to a heavy drum beat, with the red Imperial banners fluttering in the light afternoon breeze and each Battalion's Golden Dragon Standard glistening in the afternoon sun like a good omen signifying the victory which was to follow only a few days after this scene had taken place. Ailiea stared out at them as they passed her by.

She had seen the men of the Legion before, in battle, many, many times, and even in battlefields long since abandoned. Yet this was the closest she had been to them in such a long while without being upon the field of battle against them. So strange it felt, she thought to herself. Then, from the back of the column of men there came a group of men, all on horseback. As they rode passed her, one of them slowed to a stop and seemed to be inspecting the line of Legionaries as they passed him by. In her curiosity, she came up to the man and called out to him. "Kind sir, pray tell; who may that be which rode by upon the white steed not moments ago?".

"That, my fair lady, is General Aurelius. He rides ahead of his Staff and his Legion on his way to free Cyrodiil of the Aldmeri Dominion!", he replied to her in kind. Before long, a call of 'Legate Tullius' came for him from the others who were on horseback but a ways ahead of him. So, the one called Legate Tullius rode on ahead of her to join the others.

Though others waved and cheered and called out to him as he rode by, perched atop his white steed like a mythic hero of an age past, she did not know what it was that she should do in a situation such as this. To be sure, she was still of the Dominion, even if she was no longer of their armies and she was undecided if it would be prudent of her to convey good luck on those who were to kill her people nor not. Even after the 6th Legion had long since passed them by did she still contemplate this moral dilemma.

* * *

So then at last, after many days of traveling they came to a fork in the road north of the Imperial City. to the north lay Bruma, and to the east lay Cheydinhal. When the time came to decide on going north or going east, she paused that she may consider her path more closely. After much deliberation on her part on the matter, she finally decided on heading east so as to push as far away from the Dominion, who was to her west, as possible. So she pushed east, traveling with an ever shrinking group. As they traveled, they were passed by troops once more. First it was the 1st Legion who had passed them, and who were met with much the same fanfare as the 6th Legion before them had been. Not but a few days march behind them came the 3rd Legion, and a few days behind them there came the 13th Legion, each receiving their own fanfare as they passed. In her travels, Ailiea had seen four full strength Legions pass her by on their way to the front lines in as many days as she cared to remember. The Imperial Legion had more strength left in it then she had apparently realized, and she often thought in the days since they had passed the last Legion that if given the chance would she have warned her own people of these latest troop movements or not, then finally decided that she would very likely not.

When at last she came to the outskirts of Cheydinhal, Ailiea was all alone as all of those who had been traveling with her had long since disbursed along the road, having come to their own destinations. As each departed from the group, they had all wished Ailiea none but the best on her travels. Though she was no longer with any group, it could be said that she still did not travel without companion, for upon her heels there came a great and terrible storm, not far distant behind her. This was not a storm of clouds and wind and rain, this was a different sort of storm which was later to cause such pain and destruction. It would seem that she had dragged it along behind her as she made her way through the massive iron gates into the heart of Cheydinhal. As she crossed the bridge before the city and came through the gates, she could feel the suspicious eyes of the guards upon her person, but she never halted to indulge them and they for their part never stopped her.

In these days it was a man, an Imperial, named Manius who had become the proprietor of the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn. Here he stayed with his wife, Gnaea, and his young daughter, Appia, who was then only six; these two who were most precious to him. By now word had reached as far east as Cheydinhal that the 6th Legion had destroyed the Aldmeri Dominion forces upon the foothills of the Imperial City and had so liberated it. Such a stunning victory came on the heels of not but the disastrous news which had came before it. This provided such a surge to the moral of the townsfolk, who had had it in their heads for some time that Cheydinhal was soon to feel the wrath of Aldmeri Dominion forces as well.

So when at last the realization that these horrors would not be visited upon Cheydinhal as had happened at other cities, the finest meats were prepared and the casks of wine and mead were opened and the townsfolk cheered and toasted and ate merrily to the victory of the 6th Legion. Many had gathered to celebrate at the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn that night, and the Inn was full to such a capacity as had not been seen in quite some time. Though Manius had been meaning to hire on help at the Inn, he had not done so yet, and as such he found himself quite busy that night, along with his wife, while little Appia went about, entertaining all those who saw her with her childish little quirks and her polite mannerisms. A more merry scene there could not have been on nights such as this.

As they had began to run dry of the wines and the mead which the guests were so enjoying, Manius proceeded to the cellar below the main floor to seek out more, when there came a rustling from beyond the cellar doors which connected it to the streets beyond the Inn. At first he thought of the noise as nothing but the scurrying of the skeevers across the doors as they were know to do this from time to time. Sure enough, he heard their little paws pattering about just on the other side of the doors, and as he had turned about to return to the ground floor of the Inn, he heard an even larger creature scurrying about, giving chase to the skeevers.

Whatsoever it was, it had caught one, as he could hear the skeever cry out as it was surely devoured by this creature. The horrible screeching which the skeever had made caused him to freeze where he stood and made the hairs on the back of his neck and on his arms stand on end. He turned, placing the wine and the mead down upon a table. Manius was an older man, who had already given service to the Legion in years long since passed, which was why he was not serving currently in the war.

Though he had been trained once upon a time, this was a time which had long since passed, and as a soldier he was but a shadow of the man he used to be. Despite this, he drew his dagger and slowly made his way to the cellar doors, and upon reaching it, he slowly and quietly unlatched the door. Once he had done this, he took the briefest of moments to gather his thoughts and his courage before he went. Finding his courage at long last, he threw his entire weight upon the doors and came up from the cellar screaming.

But the sight which greeted him fully took away his fury, a fury which was replaced with an overwhelming sense of pity. There, before him, lay a girl, dressed only in rags and with a hood drawn about her head. She was kneeling before him, though in her surprise, she had fallen back, revealing to him that she was naked under her rags. In one hand, there was a dead and bloodied skeever, and she wore its blood upon her face, while in the other hand she had a weapon drawn that she may defend herself.

Though a closer inspection of her weapon revealed it to be not a weapon at all, but only a twig. All this, and as well, she was trembling. Truly, she looked more helpless and pitiful than threatening. Placing one hand behind his head in confusion and replacing the dagger with the other, he just stood there before and stared her down for a moment. She, for part, did not move but to breathe, as he could see the rising and falling of her chest from behind her rags. Finally, he held out a hand to her and he asked her to follow him.

She did not move from her lowly spot upon the ground, so he moved forward, causing her to back away in panic, but he simply reassured her that all would be well, so that she finally and slowly stood and followed him into the cellar. Once he had secured the doors to the cellar, he turned about to find that the girl had taken a seat next to the table with the wines and the mead placed upon it. He could not see her face as it was covered by the shadows. So, slowly, he made his way over to her and very slowly but surely, he removed the hood from her head, which caused her to jump in surprise.

She looked away from him and looked down upon the floor of the cellar, and with her head turned as such, showed him her elfin ear. An Altmer, he thought to himself as he gazed upon her, which seemed to explain why she was so jumpy. Truly, the Altmer were not well thought of in these days, since the commencement of the war. From a human prospective, she could not have been any older than eighteen, though as an Elf, he knew that she was actually and in all likelihood far older than he. Asking of her that she not move, and hoping that she could understand him, he made his way up the stairs and back into the main room of the Inn.

Once there, he sought out his wife. Gnaea, and once he found her, called her to him. Though at first she took of no notice, as she was entertaining their many guests, soon the urgency in his eyes convinced her to come to him. When she reached him, he spoke not a word. He simply took her by the hand and proceeded to lead her to the stairs which led into the cellar. As she followed him, she thought of how odd he was acting and hoped that they had not been robbed by the Thieves Guild of their casks of wine and mead again. Once she entered the cellar, she was greeted by the site of the pitiful elfin girl, dressed only in rags and with blood spread out across her face. Gnaea saw this and all at once her maternal instincts stepped in.

She took a wet rag and cleansed the blood from the girl's face, and as she did this, she took in the sight of the girl. The elfin girl had an almost divine appearance about her person. Her long and ragged hair was of a brilliant and blinding light color which was very nearly white. Her skin was just a pale and cold to the touch and her eyes shined of a brilliant silver color. Truly, her features were soft and very muted and she conveyed a very gentle and vulnerable aura about her person. Ailiea thought it very odd to be treated as such after her long journey and her time on the streets of Cyrodiil, but she had decided that they had meant her no harm, and she really had no other place to go at any rate. So there she sat, in the cellar of the Inn, surrounded by strangers.

In the days which proceeded this happening, Manius and Gnaea decided to give her boarding in the Inn and hire her on as a barmaid and Ailiea came to live with them. As she had no clothes of her own, Gnaea lent her some of her very own dresses, and though they fit Gnaea perfectly, they hung loosely from Ailiea's more meager frame. Gnaea was a curvy, buxom woman whereas Ailiea maintained a comparatively smaller, lithe build. Though Ailiea scoffed at how loose fitting the clothes were, Gnaea laughed off her comments and told her that she would grow to fill the dresses in due time, even though she knew that this was not true. Gnaea thought that the name Ailiea befitted her as it was a very gentle sounding name. In truth, the name, as well as her soft and muted appearance were deceptive of the terrible and bloodthirsty beast she truly was on the inside. True, in days long since passed, she had once been kind and gentle, but this was a very, very long time ago.

Because the war was not over yet at this time, and as she was still hunted, she remained quiet and kept to herself, that her true nature may never betray her. Manius and his family, and all who came to the Inn had naturally assumed her silence was just as she was as they had mistaken her desire to keep a low profile as a natural shyness which she had always possessed. When they asked about her life before Cheydinhal, as soon curiosity got the better of them, she told them that she had been born and raised and had resided in the Imperial City for many, many years before it fell to the Altmer. She seemed to know so much about the City that they all naturally assumed that this must be so, never suspecting that she knew so much about the city in truth because she had walked its streets as a conqueror.

Then, one day not long after she came here, the news reached Cheydinhal that the War had finally been brought to a close and that Cyrodiil was finally free of the Aldmeri Dominion. Though many cheered and celebrated, she felt conflicted. She didn't know what she was to do now that the war was over. Was she to remain here, or if not, where was she to go. As fate would have it, the question was one day answered for her as they had all felt that, now that hostilities had ended, she may decide to return to the Imperial City, the begged her to stay as she had become something of a fixture around the Inn and something akin to family to all of them. Though they had all come to love her, she felt indifferent about all of them, but as she had nowhere else to go, she decided that perhaps she should stay after all.

Little Appia was happiest of all when she had learned about Ailiea's decision to stay with them, as she was an only child and was this very lonely. Once Appia had been a very sad child, one who didn't speak very much and spent most of her days within the Inn as she very seldom ever traveled beyond its walls. Seeing Appia in such a state as that took a terrible toll on her parents as nothing they had tried seemed to alter her mood. Though it seemed as if the child were to be trapt forever in the darkening embrace of melancholy, this all began to change once Ailiea came to be with them. Appia now found herself no longer alone. Now she had someone to talk to and someone to play with. Though at first Ailiea shied away from the child, soon they came to be close and Ailiea became something akin to an older sister to the girl.

* * *

Though Ailiea was only to live here in the Inn but a few brief years, she would always remember these years as some of the happiest that she could ever remember having known. Though Ailiea could have no way of knowing this at the time, this happy and contented life which she had grown to know and so love was not to be the end of her tale. Indeed, as so often happens, fate had other plans for her. One day, there came to the Inn a tired and weather worn traveler. He wore in his eyes a thousand tales full of pain and sorrow and he wore a much pained expression of loss upon his face. As it was so late, Ailiea had decided that she would watch the Inn that night, that the others may make merry in rest. He came up to her before the counter and asked her for boarding for the night and perhaps something to eat and drink, if it not be too much trouble as he had the coin to pay. Naturally, she agreed and made for the kitchen to tend to his needs, when he called out to her.

When she turned about to face him, she could see a sudden shift in the expression he wore about his face. It was as if he were attempting to gaze through her and see the things which she could not. His eyes narrowed and he raised ever so slightly from the stool upon which he was sitting and it was a while before he spoke again. "There's something about you. Your voice; I feel as though I've met you somewhere before.", he said more of her than to her, as if he were thinking aloud to himself.

"Surely you jest kind sir, as I have resided her in Cheydinhal for many years now and have been no other place."

But her words he ignored as he remained convinced of his own thoughts on the subject. "No,", he told her, "I know you, of this I'm sure."

"As I've said, kind sir; I've been here and not far from here, so that it be unlikely.", she answered him, though in spite of herself, she too began to search through her memories that she may recognize him. But no matter how hard she thought, she could not bring herself to remember him from anywhere. Though she could not find the answer, not a moment after this the answer found its way to him instead. So all at once it came fully back to him, though he wished that it hadn't.

He remembered Ailiea now, even if he hadn't wanted to. It had been many years ago, on the streets of the Imperial City. It was the market district as he recalled. He had owned a shop there once, with his wife. Yes, his wife, he remembered her now. She was beautiful and had been all his whole world. Then there came the day when the Altmer soldiers forced their way into the city. He had been warned days ahead that they were coming and that they should leave at their earliest opportunity, but he thought of the very idea of an Imperial being forced from the city by Altmer was laughable. Though his wife had begged him that they should make good their escape from the city, he reassured her as to the unlikelihood of the Altmer making their way into the city. He remembered the horror and despair he had felt on the day he had learned that the Altmer had indeed broken their way into the city. As soon as he had heard of the news, he took his wife and they made for the gates of the city that they may still make good on their escape.

And so they ran. They ran through panic stricken streets. They ran through the darkness and the chaos, winding their way through the repentant who were on their knees praying to the nine for salvation and the looters who were picking the streets clean. They ran and they made their way to the city gates, but it was too late. As the gates came fully into view, so too did the first of the Altmer soldiers as they made their way into the fallen city. When they saw the soldiers, they tried to run back the way they had come, but to no avail; the soldiers had caught up to them and now had them. The soldiers were drunk, though not on any form of strong drink. They were flush with their victory so that they now felt they were now entitled to the spoils of all that which the city held. His wife had tried to back away, but a soldier had taken her by her arm. He saw this and he acted upon sheer instinct, as any man in his stead would have done. He took his dagger and he stabbed the soldier, who had failed to see him coming, again and again, until the soldier released his beloved. This he did, falling backwards to his death.

Now free, they tried to run from the other soldiers, when he felt a sharp pain go through his shoulder, and he fell to the ground. He could still remember in such vivid detail the screams of his wife as he felt for the arrow which had pierced his body. It was a clean shot and the arrow had gone straight through him so that he could now see the tip of the arrow before him as it protruded from his wounded shoulder. His wife, who was still screaming, came down to him, and attempted as best she could to care for his wound. But she did not get far, for behind her he could see another soldier coming upon her. He tried to warn her but he could not find his voice in time. Yes, he remembered now, as clearly now as the day it all happened; Ailiea had been the soldier.

Though still she could not remember this, she had seen the man kill her fellow soldier so that she took an arrow from her quiver and let slip her cruel vengeance, intentionally wounding him through the shoulder so as to drop him but not kill him. This she did with relative ease, and upon seeing the man lying upon the ground with his wife rushing to help him where he lay, she came up behind the woman. He could see her coming and she could see him struggle to find the words to warn her, but it was too late; Ailiea was already upon them. Only when her shadow fell across them did the woman take notice of her and slowly turn that she may face her attacker. Ailiea stared down the woman for a time, and the woman stared back at her.

Then she unsheathed the sword by her side, and with one powerful blow, Ailiea fully decapitated the woman. Blood came from the neck and partly covered her in its sweet aroma. Though the head was now severed, and falling to the ground, the body stayed in place for a moment before taking its place before the man. He had been screaming the whole time, though Ailiea had only become aware of this when the body of his wife joined him there upon the ground. He screamed and he screamed, and he drew the body close to himself and he held it there. Ailiea was taken in by the sublime nature of the whole scene that she took the woman's head by her hair and brought it level to herself, staring down the woman's eyes which were still open and which still bore the same expression as she had wore just before her death, and the woman's eyes stared back at her.

Though the man had confessed that he now remembered her, Ailiea, for the life of her still could not remember him. In truth, she had done so much in cruelty onto others that she had great difficulty remembering specific instances. But he remembered, and he remembered her. He said that he remembered her, and he kept repeating that he did, over and over again as he walked over to her. This caused her to draw away from the man, though as he grew louder and louder, she soon became concerned that he may wake the others who were sleeping above them. She told him this, but he seemed to take no notice. He just kept repeating that he remembered her, over and over, without end. She asked him once more to keep his voice down, but that was when he made the mistake; he identified her as an Altmer soldier, an archer. He said that he remembered her as an Altmer soldier and that he was going to be sure to call the guards on her, first chance he got, and he made for the door. And just like that, after years of working so hard to hide herself far away, she had been uncovered and laid bare.

As the realization of his words began to fully dawn on him, she lost control over herself. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself thrown upon the surface of a table. He tried to get up and run, but Ailiea was already upon him. Bringing her fist hard across his face, he fell back upon the table and began to spit up the blood and the teeth she had knocked loose from him. the blood was everywhere on the table, and the sight and smell of it pushed Ailiea over the edge. No longer able to contain the hunger which was wallowing up from some long forgotten part of herself, she bent down to him and placed her lips upon his neck. With very little resistance, her fangs found their mark and she began to drink deeply and draw as much of him into her as she could, as fast as he could.

Though he had not the strength to fight her off, this did not stop him from silently crying out in horror as he felt the blood leave his body. Soon he was crying had subsided and he was moving less and less until finally he went cold and limp in her embrace. Satisfied with her work, she removed her fangs from his neck and began to lick the wound upon his neck with wild abandon. The taste of fresh blood such as this had always thrown her into such a euphoric state, especially after she gorged herself as she had just done. Feeling a sensation of the greatest pleasure wash over every fiber of her waking being, she thrust hard into the corpse as she felt her back tense up and arch back and she fixed her gaze up at the ceiling. The feeling of pleasure continued throughout her entire body that it caused her to shake and her breathing to quicken.

It was then that her whole world came down upon her once again. She heard something hard fall upon the floor at the foot of the stairs, and when she turned and fixed her gaze upon this spot, her breathing stopped cold. There, at the foot of the stairs, lay Appia, who had so backed away in horror at the scene as it played out before her that she had tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor. Their gazes met and it caused both of them to freeze where they were. And for the first time in her entire life, Ailiea felt the bitter sting of shame. feeling the eyes of the child glaring her down to her very depths, she slowly let go of her feast and let it fall to the table under her, the eyes of the dead man staring down the child all the while. The sight of the man's lifeless eyes caught the child's eyes so completely and so caused her mouth to drop from shock. Then at last, when Ailiea could no longer bare to be in the sight of the child any longer, she took flight through the door of the Inn, not once looking back for fear of what she might see. She ran and she ran, as far away as her feet could take her, clear across Cheydinhal.

When at last she stopped to catch her breath, she found herself before a large and abandoned house which stood all alone on the other side of the city. The house was centuries old, yet no one had ever bothered to refurbish it as bad things were known to happen there, from time to time. Ailiea stared down the old house before her and smiled. As things were, she suddenly found herself wanting to be quite alone. Of all the places to which she could have ran to in Cheydinhal, this was the one place where she could truly hide. So, making sure no one was watching and feeling fairly certain that no one was, she proceeded into the abandoned house. The house was largely empty and completely covered in the dirt and grime of the world which came here to hide away. There lay nothing here which anyone would have wanted, for which she was glad. It meant all the more reassurance that no one would bother her. She found herself a quiet place to rest and think, and soon she fell asleep. Being a Vampire meant that Ailiea seldom ever slept and was known to stay fully awake for months at a time. Whenever she did this, however, she required several days worth of sleep in order to counterbalance this apparent insomnia. This meant that it was several days before Ailiea finally awoke from her long slumber. Once she was awake, she became all to keenly aware of a darkly dressed presence in the room before her, staring her down as if it had been there the whole time.

"I know what you've done, Vampire. It was... impressive work.", a voice came from the shadowy figure; it was a man's voice. For a while, they just stayed where they were, frozen in time and staring each other down thoroughly. Ailiea was not sure what she should say to the man, so instead she just lay where she was and waited for him to go on with his words for she felt almost certain that there was to be more. "I can offer you a home. Somewhere where you won't have to hide who you truly are. A home where you will not only be accepted for what you are, but also encouraged in your dark and terrible nature.", he went on. Ailiea had begun to pick up on who he was and what he was representing to her. She had heard of the Dark Brotherhood long, long ago. She could still remember when the rumors about the black sacrament had first spread through Tamriel. In spite of her terrible, terrible nature, she had never been tempted to seek out this young group back then, when they were new. Now was different. Now she had nowhere else to go and was interested in yet another new path, like the many hundreds before which she had walked down in time passed. And so it came to be that Ailiea joined the Dark Brotherhood.


	3. Chapter 3

Though twenty six years had passed since the end of the Great War, all was not well within the Empire. Within the great lands of Skyrim, to the north of Cyrodiil, resentment towards the Mede Dynasty and his Empire grew and grew over his decision to give into the demands of the Thalmer and so ending the worship of Talos. All of this in spite of the fact that Imperial forces were on the verge of Expelling Dominion forces from Cyrodiil. Many brave Nords never returned to great Skyrim, and as such it was felt by many that he defiled their honor by surrendering to the Thalmer so quickly. Though perhaps that which finally forced the Nords over the edge was the decision to outlaw the worship of Talos and the decision to allow Thalmer enforcers into Skyrim to insure this was done. This proved to be an affront to Nord honor from which too many Nords felt could not go unchallenged.

So it was that, in this heated climate in the cold and frigid north, a hot-blooded dissident named Ulfric Stormcloak one day stormed into the Blue Palace of Solitude and murdered the High King Torygg, before his entire court and his beloved wife Elisif. Though he felt it to be an honorable duel by the old Nord way, the Imperial Government maintained that it was not but a foul murder and an attempt at usurpation and ordered his immediate arrest. In spite of the best efforts of the Nord authorities, or perhaps because of, Ulfric escaped back to Windhelm. Not long after this, the Stormcloak Rebellion began in earnest. At first, the Imperial Government felt that this was a passing issue which would, in time, be settled internally.

In spite of what the Emperor may have initially felt, this was soon undone once entire Holds started falling in line with the Stormcloaks. So in response, the Emperor dispatched an entire Legion to Skyrim. The honor fell to the 20,000 strong 6th Legion, who was by this time under the command of General Tullius. General Tullius had dedicated the better part of his life to the 6th Legion, and had even rendered service with it during the Great War, and was thus no stranger to the inner workings of this Legion.

His second in command was another 6th Legion veteran; the Nord woman, Legate Rikke. Her agreement to take on the task at hand signaled to the Empire that not all Nords agreed with Ulfric and his Stormcloaks. With this, the 6th Legion found more support in Skyrim than had originally been anticipated. The stated mission of the 6th Legion was to first secure Solitude, the regional Capitol of Skyrim. Once accomplished, they were next to eradicate the Stormcloaks, and execute the rebel leader Ulfric Stormcloak. The Skyrim Civil War was thus began in earnest.

* * *

Twenty three years prior to the start of the Skyrim Civil War, and only three years after the end of the Great War, Ailiea became a member of the Dark Brotherhood. When she was approached by the darkly shadowed man, who later identified himself as a Breton by the name of Mordane, she felt little resistance as to joining up with the murderous organization as she had nowhere else to go and no other prospects at that point. This, and also her indifference to the vile act of killing. In her long lived life, she had seen much cruelty and death, which had forever left her once pure soul long ago mutilated an forever vile. It created deep within herself a great desensification and the cruel indifference which inherently came therein. As such, she found it easy to kill with no real justification.

Though at first, they insisted on training her in stealth, she so outperformed her supposed instructors that she ended up teaching them new stealth techniques instead. Little did they know of the training as a scout and as a ranger which she had preciously undergone. Next there came training with blades, in which she once again greatly out performed her supposed instructors, again teaching them new sword and dagger techniques, which were also learned from military training in armies and in days long since passed. Next they attempted to train her in magic, but again she greatly surpassed the ability of her instructors, and again this happened when they attempted to teach her archery. After all, how could they have known of the extensive training regiments which she had been through while serving in a hundred different armies in a hundred different times, during a hundred different wars.

Within a matter of days, they quickly learned that she was already fully prepared to go out on contracts without all the additional training that any other Dark Brother Initiate would have needed. Her very first assignment was to kill a Priest of Zenithar. She never learned who had wanted him dead, or even why. To her, it didn't really make any difference if the kill was morally justifiable or not. It was just another mission to be completed, another task to be fulfilled. Next, she was to kill a Guard in the City of Bravil, and after this, a dockhand in the City of Anvil. After these first contracts, her memory of things, events, and happenings became incoherent, as often happens when life is lived in a hurried daze as Ailiea often did by that point in her life.

As the jobs came and went, so did the years, and even her new found brothers and sisters around her. There were nine of them at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary at first. There were the two Bretons: Mordane (who was the Silencer) and Sabine; there were three Imperials: Varus, Jesan, and Lalatia; there was an Orc named Garnag; there was a Dunmer named Fadren, and lastly, the speaker, who was a Khajiit named Rasha. Ailiea, a vampire and a supposed Altmer as far as anyone knew, made nine.

Though Ailiea had was still a stranger in this world and considered herself as a mere wanderer passing though the Dark Brotherhood, even she had began to notice that the Dark Brotherhood was starting to fall into chaos. More and more of their assassins were being dying off or being killed through various means each and every day which passed. Mordane, for example, ripped off a Priestess of Dibella, who in turn, kindly relieved him of his manhood as he slept. Poor Lalatia was found out to be a member of the Brotherhood, and Ailiea was sent to kill her before she revealed any of the illusive group's well guarded secrets. She came to Lalatia late in the night and bedded her before cutting her throat from ear to ear and draining her of her life sustaining blood.

Worse still, word had started reaching those at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary that other Sanctuaries across the whole of Tamriel were being discovered and destroyed or were being abandoned. Even the common folk who forever walked the sulky streets had began to notice the downward trend. As they were suffering such alarming losses, it was becoming increasingly difficult to deal with contracts, as they were simply running out of assassins. In areas where there were no longer any Sanctuaries at all, this task simply became all but impossible. The Dark Brotherhood was simply withering away, and the people were aware of this and were starting to lose faith in the Black Sacrament.

In spite of all which was happening to the Dark Brotherhood, things in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary seemed for the longest time to be unaffected by any of this. Yet this could not last. All of that changed on the day that the Bruma Sanctuary was found out and destroyed. Every last member of that Sanctuary were felled in a last, desperate attempt to hold on to it. All members par for one, who managed to escape to Cheydinhal, and bring the bad tidings upon them. He was a young man, an Imperial named Cicero. Ailiea remembered the day upon which he joined them. He wore in his eyes a terrible applicable sadness the likes of which she hadn't seen in a long, long time. They were heavily ladened with the sad, sad memories of a home lost and a family destroyed. His face was pale and he looked to her to be weak and sickly, the after affects of his terrible plight which ate away at him like a cancer. The only part of him which seemed lively in any way was his brilliantly red hair, and even this seemed to be dull and listless to her.

Though others would come and go through the Sanctuary as they went about their lives, there always sat the poor boy, always alone in the corner with his nose always down in a journal. A journal to chronicle life as he saw it unfold before him, day after day. Always there he sat, without fail, seldom ever moving from his lowly spot there in the corner. Ailiea had made it a point to always stop by the table and share words with him, even if only for a few minutes, so that he would know that he was still family and that he was welcome there. He seemed nice to her, though he seemed to prefer listening to speaking and seemed to maintain a quiet, reserved aura about his person which surrounded him in a shroud of mystery. Ailiea could see that he still mourned the loss of his prior family and she wished that she could do more for him.

Alas, For she knew only one cure for his plight; time. Soon, he felt well enough to start taking on contracts once more. His first contract with the Cheydinhal Sanctuary was the murder of a Baroness. It was a clean kill, though he ended up having to dispatch her handmaiden as well. At that point things got messy, or so Ailiea had heard. After a while, the sickness which seemed to affect his being gradually subsided and he began to take on a more healthy appearance. In spite of this, he remained as unsociable as ever, always and forever more remaining in his corner. Though Ailiea continued to visit him there from time to time, he never really warmed up to her, or any of them for that matter.

After Cicero joined the Cheydinhal Sanctuary things seemed to quiet down for a while. Even the Listener, an Imperial woman named Alisanne Dupre, came to Cheydinhal from Bravil to discuss the reopening of a Shadowscale training facility in Black Marsh in order to boost the Brotherhood's membership and regain much needed prestige. In the end, both she and the Speaker Rasha decided the impracticality of this due to the lack of resources needed to do as such. While she was there, word reached them that the Wayrest Sanctuary had also been destroyed by corsairs. With the call of the Bruma and Wayrest Sanctuaries, there were left only three Sanctuaries in all of Tamriel; the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, the Falkreath Sanctuary in Skyrim, and the Corinthe Sanctuary in Elsweyr. It was as if a great storm chaos and calamity had hit the Brotherhood hard. With the tragic news, Alisanne decided she was to return to Bravil. After she left, she brought the storm upon her heals, back to Bravil. Skooma traffickers have taken to the streets in fits and battles for control of the Skooma markets in the area. This they were only allowed to do in the chaos created after the Great War.

As they took to the streets, the violence spread far and wide until it was no longer safe to walk the streets of Bravil anymore. This became worrisome for not only the safety of the Listener, but also for the safety of the Night Mother herself. From what Ailiea had come to understand, the Night Mother was kept safely hidden in a crypt under a statue called the Lucky Old Lady. With the chaos on the streets of Bravil, it was feared that the statue may be destroyed and the crypt uncovered; only Sithis himself knew what would happen after that. Word reached Rasha that Alisanne had even taken to hiring Sellswords to protect her residence. But Rasha knew that such precautionary actions would ultimately prove futile, so he elected to send some of the brothers and sisters of the sanctuary to aid in protecting the Listener and the Night Mother. In the end, it was decided to send Garnag, a newer Imperial sister named Andronica, and Ailiea as well. When Cicero had heard of the mission, he jumped at the chance, though ultimately Rasha felt it better if he stay back at the Sanctuary.

So Garnag, Andronica, and Ailiea made for Bravil, and though they went in confidence, one could only wonder how long that confidence would have lasted if they only knew what truly awaited for them in Bravil; if they knew that only one of them was to make it back to Cheydinhal. As soon as they arrived, they immediately started preparing for the storm which could be seen building upon the horizon. They made sure that their weapons as well as themselves were prepared, come what may. they would not have long to wait; not but a few days after the three had arrived then the gangs came together for a desperate fight there upon the town square and right in front of the statue of the Lucky Old Lady. As they fought, the statue was destroyed.

Fearing the worst, the three of them escorted Alisanne to the crypt of the Night Mother in order to prepare to defend it while the necessary preparations were made to move it to Cheydinhal. As they were preparing to move the Night Mother's coffin, the mobs found their way upon them, and all at once, all of Oblivion itself fell upon them. They were ran down by a great mob of men, Garnag grabbing his war axe and Andronica making for her sword. As they cut and slashed down the men which came for them, Ailiea and the Listener took to their bows and arrows and began to provide a covering fire over their heads. Though they were killing many men, the great mass showed no signs of letting up so that gradually the whole lot of them were forced from the crypt. As they went, Garnag used a form of Telekinetic magic she hadn't been aware he had possessed and loaded the Night Mother's coffin onto a wagon which waited for the four of them.

With it loaded, they made for the wagon as fast as they could, but alas, Andronica did not make it. As she was the farthest back amongst them, she was the first that the mob caught. As she ran, a man took a hold of her arm. As this fully stopped her from running, she came about with her sword drawn and promptly cut his arm off. And just as she was turning back about to continue running, three swords from the men who had caught up to her came through her chest. Blood went all about the street and freely flowed from her wounds as she cried out in the agonizing pain she was surely in. As she was then in too much pain to continue on, she fell to her knees, though the men behind her gave her no mercy. They continued to stab her through her back again and again, and once they had done this several dozen more times, they left her there upon the street to die as the others trampled over her broken frame. Ailiea saw all this and cried out in anger, as she and the others were powerless to save poor Andronica.

Due to the sheer volume of the crowd which attacked them, soon they became separated. Garnag was left with the cart, desperately fighting off the massive crowd as he desperately searched for his missing Sisters. the Listener Alisanne had been chased back to the ruins of the statue of the Lucky Old Lady and had climbed up upon its ruins so as to get away from the mob below her. Ailiea, for her part was chased from the scene and had been cornered in an alleyway just off the main strip. From where Ailiea was, she could still see Alisanne standing upon the statue, fending off her attackers now using destruction magic as she hurled lightning into the lot of them. Ailiea herself took to magic to fend off her attackers and began to hurl great balls of fire at her attackers to keep them at bay.

Ailiea felt encouraged to see Alisanne wielding such power, until she saw the Listener catch fire from the sheer volume of Pyromancy which had been directed at her from unseen adversaries. Once more Ailiea screamed in horror as she listened to the blood curdling cries which emanated from the Listener's burning form. She cried out and waved her arms in panic as she scrambled about for what seemed like an eternity before she finally fell to her death at the foot of the statue of the Lucky Old Lady, nothing more than a burned up husk. Now Ailiea had seen the deaths of two of her beloved sisters in but a few minutes apart of each other. She felt an old rage boil up from somewhere deep within herself, and at this point, she felt she no longer needed to hold anything back.

Now she wielded her magical abilities to their upmost and fullest extent, as such as she had not done for many centuries. She felt the very air about her crackle and steam and hiss at the great extent of heat which emanated from her lithe form. She felt the very blood within her begin to boil and she began to see not but sanguine. With her arms held out before her, she cried out in fury and a great storm of rage and fire fully surrounded her entire person. All at once, the buildings on either side of her went up in flames and all those unfortunate to be around her did so as well so that the sickly sweet smell of ripe and burning flesh hung in the air all around her. She could hear their agonizing cried of pain and horror as many of them fell dead at her feet, not but burning husks; just as they had done onto the Listener.

Taking no time to rest, Ailiea then proceeded to hurl fireball after fireball down upon the survivors who had not yet withdrawn from the alleyway. She did this again, and again until she was made free of the alleyway and turned to join with Garnag that they may make good their escape. As she did this, an arrow pierced her chest, right through her heart which caused her to drop instantaneously. Had she been a living being she surely would have died in that instant where she stood, though thank the nine, she wasn't. She clutched at her chest, which was burning and causing her agonizing pain. A silver arrow, she might have known. she watched helplessly as the precious life sustaining blood oozed free of her body. At this point, she could not even move. In her rage she had used up all of her strength, and in so doing, had so worn herself out so that she couldn't even stand to escape. As she lay there dying, she could feel the darkness coming onto her as her vision started to go. As it went, she began to feel the cold of the void as it creeped its way into her form. As she looked onto the mob as it slowly made its way over to her, she saw the figure of a woman come before her. Death, she thought to herself as she fell into a void of cold, cold darkness.

Garnag saw it all. From where he stood he looked on helplessly as poor Sister Andronica was overcome and mutilated. He gazed on in unspeakable horror as the Listener herself was engulfed in flames as she fell to her own death. So then at last, he froze where he stood, too stunned to move, as he saw Sister Ailiea felled by an arrow to her chest, and looked on as the mob overcame her. For a while he remained frozen where he stood, before the surging mob rushing at him with murderous intent brought him fully back into his own body. Realizing that he could no longer do anything for his fallen sisters, he quickly made his way over to the Night Mother and the wagon. Once there, he made a hasty escape from Bravil, not once looking back for he couldn't bear to do so. He rode far into the night and into the following days without rest until he finally reached the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. It was only at this time that he became fully aware of his own wounds; he had been beaten and stabbed multiple times, though perhaps most serious of all was an axe wound he had taken to his right eye. As they tended to his wounds, he regaled them all with the bravery in which all of the sisters had each met their end that they may join the Dread Father forever in the void of eternal darkness.

* * *

Ailiea was swimming in a void of darkness and of memories of times and faces long since passed. There before her she saw her mother and father, smiling up at her before they turned, hand in hand and walked forever into the void. Then from behind her came Valdekul, the ancient Vampire who had turned her into the wretched and blood thirsty beast which she had become. He floated before her, forever laughing at her. She screamed at his form, then watched as it too fell into the void. Though his form had vanished, his memory would be forever burned into her mind forever. This and all the things he had done onto her in younger years. In sad truth, he was simply the first of many to torment her so. Then she heard more laughing, coming from out of the void. Though this time it wasn't Valdekul. No, this voice belonged to the Dragon Priest Morokei, who was her next master after he had kill Valdekul and took her as his prize. It was his laughter, calling out to her from beyond the void. It caused her to grow angrier and angrier, and her body to grow hot. Soon the heat which surrounded her spread out until the whole of the void became unbearably hot. And once it became too hot for her to bear, she opened her eyes.

As Ailiea slowly opened her eyes, she was greeted with such a sight as she would not have expected. She was in a room. The room was not particularly large, and though there was a window, it was closed off to the outside sun by a lone, ragged curtain. In spite of this, the room was not dark as the light of the outside world was spilling into the room through the open door. As she looked to the door, she became all too aware of the sounds of a child at play. sure enough, there at the door sat a young girl, no older than six. A very young girl which looked all too impossibly familiar to her. "Appia?", she whispered more than called out to the child. She tried to set up in the bed she was in that she may see the child better.

Though as soon as she moved, a terrible and burning pain came to her emanating from the area of her chest which caused her to drop down once more onto the bed in which she lay. As soon as the child heard the name, she slowly turned to face Ailiea. Though nearly twenty years had passed since last Ailiea had seen the child, she could still remember her face, and seeing the child was like looking into days since past for Ailiea. As soon as the child could see that the Elfin woman was awake and looking to her, she cried out "Mother!" and was gone from the room in an instant. Now that Ailiea's senses were starting to return to her, she started to realize that she was burning up and drenched and glistening in sweat. She had grown deathly ill, likely the result of the silver arrow which had so pierced her heart not long ago. Though how long ago she couldn't quite say. She sat there for the briefest of moments before the child came scrambling back with an older woman in tow. From Ailiea's perspective, the rather buxom woman looked to be an Imperial, likely in her late 20s.

"Aye, the fever's gotten worse. Claudia, fetch some cold water and some rags for me.", the woman told the child by her side. Obediently, the girl named Claudia did as she was told and off she went without a moment's hesitation. Ailiea was alone with the woman now, and as she looked up to her, she somehow knew who she was.

"Appia, oh how you've grown.", Ailiea said to her.

Taking Ailiea's hand in her own, she knelt by the bed with beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, "You remember me after all these years. I'm glad, I've missed you.". Appia paused for a while before she spoke on. "Look at you, not a day older then when last I saw you. Truly, you are a vampire after all.".

"The years have been kind to you, you've grown into a beautiful woman. And your daughter; truly she was made in your image. She looks as you did those many years ago,", Ailiea managed to speak, however softly as she was quickly tiring. "Where is the girl's father?"

At the question, Appia's gaze became somewhat distant and sad. "After you left the Inn, life was never the same for me. Again I found myself all alone in the world, and I couldn't take it. So as soon as I turned sixteen, I came here to Bravil, a warmer city by the bay. I was looking to start over, and here I met my husband. Not long after we were married, we had little Claudia. Soon he went back to sea as a sailor, to earn for his family, but the ship he was on was attacked by corsairs...". She stopped for a while as the tears found their way once more to her eyes. "They left no survivors. Since then I've done all that I can to provide for my Claudia."

"How did I get here?", Ailiea whispered to her; Ailiea's strength was fading fast.

Seeing that Ailiea was starting to fade again, Appia placed her hand upon Ailiea's forehead; it was burning, hotter than it had been earlier. Ailiea was far more ill than Appia had feared. " I saw the mob attacking you and your friends, so I quickly made for home that I may see to Claudia's safety. As I passed by the mob, I saw you, felled by an arrow. At first I looked away that I may not see you die, then I caught a glimpse of your eyes. Your breath-taking, silver eyes, and I knew that it had to be you. So I made my way to you, and protected you from the mob until they moved on. Once they had passed us by, I carried you to my home.", the entire scene was still fresh in Appia's mind, though it had all happened over a fortnight ago. As she finished her words, Ailiea let out a small and barely audible whimper, and she fell back into a deadly sleep.

Ailiea found herself once more in the cold embrace of an empty void. As she slept, old, fragmented memories came back to her. It was a different time than from her last dreams, a time long after the time of the Dragons. Now came the time of the Nedes; the time of Men. She was in a dark place. Snow was falling all about her; she was in an open field in the midst of a relentless blizzard. Then, from out of the snow came the figure of Ysgramor. Before her he stopped for a time and smiled down to her. Then he spoke to her in a low and cruel voice, "The time of Mer is at an end,", and once he said this, he took Wuuthrad from his back and brought it down upon her screaming form.

Then only the cold of the void once more. Silence. A cold, void and silence. She floated through it, her knees folded up to her face and her arms folded across her legs. She was naked and vulnerable and all alone. Every now and again, she would hear voices all around her. voices which seemed all too familiar. First there came the voice of a small girl, "Will she be alright, mother?".

Then, inevitably, there came the answer, "I hope so, Claudia; I do hope so.". When she heard the voices, she would open her eyes for the briefest of moments. She felt hot and she was shaking fiercely as she did so. Before her came the image of little Appia. Then, as she stared on, she would realize that it was actually little Claudia, with the fully grown Appia standing opposite the small girl. They would be standing over her, looking down upon her weakened frame as they did so. Then, as she tried to call out to them, all would go dark once more as she found herself once more cold and naked in a vast and empty void. Nothing once more, but the void and the silence. Could anything be anymore maddening then this?

Another fragmented memory came to her. The time of Ysgramor was long gone now. She found herself dressed as a soldier upon the field of battle. No more snow, now only the cold waters of the sea were splashing her hard across her face. Before her lay the city of Skywatch, burning. Above the city there hovered many airships, and below them there were many hulking and fat beasts; the Sloads. With her own people long gone, Ailiea had blended into Altmer society and became one of them. The beasts approached her, so she took her sword and the struck at them. Though as soon as she came close to hitting one of the Sloads, it disappeared, leaving her to strike out at the now open air. She did this many more times, all while the Sloads laughed down at her. After a while, the Sloads grew tired of their little game, so they lashed out at her with lightning spells. She cried out in pain as the lightning seethed through her body. The pain was so intense that it fully caused her to collapse in on herself.

As she fell, she once more opened her eyes, and was greeted with the sight of little Claudia and Appia again.

"She's dying. She probably won't last the night.", she heard Appia say. Tears came to her at the bitter sting of her own words.

Little Claudia started crying. As she did this, she leaned in and kissed Ailiea gently upon her brow. Strange, she felt, as she did not even know the child and the child did not know her. Then she fell back into the void once more. She fell back into it's cold embrace, and she heard a voice call out to her. It was a voice which she had not heard before.

_Daughter, why do you linger here? It is not your time to meet the Dread Father yet. Arise and reawaken. Make your way to Skyrim, find the Sanctuary west of Falkreath. Hear my words and make it so..._

It was as if hearing the words of the Night Mother herself breathed new life into Ailiea's dying form. The void became warm and a brilliantly bright light came before Ailiea. It was as if it were calling out to her to follow, for she did just that. She followed the light farther and farther into the void, though to where she could only wonder.

Soon Ailiea could hear the chirping of birds and the rising and the falling of the sea. She breathed the warm summer air once more into her lungs. She still felt hot, but nowhere nearly as hot as she had felt. The fever was breaking at long last. She felt worlds better, though her breathing was still labored, as though something were weighing her down. So, she slowly opened her eyes, and was greeted with the sight of little Claudia, who had fallen asleep directly on top of her rising and falling chest. She tried to wake the child, or at the very least move her, but much to her dismay, she found herself far too weak to move the small girl. Then at last, Appia walked into the room. Seeing that Ailiea was awake once more seemed to elevate her mood.

"It does me good to see you awake again, after these many months of sickness.". By the nine, had it been so long. As she spoke, Appia lifted the sleeping form of Claudia fully off her and instead laid the girl down next to Ailiea. Ailiea looked on as Appia stroked her hand through the girl's hair.

"She is your whole world, isn't she...", Ailiea asked of Appia. Appia slowly nodded.

"Aye, she is. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her.". Appia leaned in and kisses the sleeping girl lightly across her brow.

"What do you do, anyway?", she asked of Appia. Appia paused for a moment before answering.

"I... sell my talents to men of the sea.".

Ailiea was taken aback by this, this was not the answer which she had expected. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"Worry not for me, I'll be fine. Besides, my little Claudia is worth it. It pays well enough that neither of us ever want for anything. My only worry is that my looks won't hold for much longer. Already I can feel time catching up to me. I'm not as young as I once was after all. I am afraid that soon I won't be able to make enough Septims to provide for us.". Appia paused for awhile, as though deep in thought. Soon she found the thought she was looking for, and upon finding it, she turned once more to Ailiea. "Can you turn me into a Vampire? I wish to be frozen to time as you are. If I were like you, I would never have to worry about providing for my Claudia."

Ailiea knew that this question would come sooner or later. "I can turn you if that truly be your wish, though are you sure you know exactly what it is you ask for?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean...", Appia gave Ailiea a puzzled gaze. Taking this as a sign to continue, Ailiea went on with her words.

"If I am to turn you, you would get your wish to be sure. You would forever be young and you would never have to worry about being unable to provide for Claudia. However, if I were to do this, you would watch as Claudia passed from the shadows of childhood. Soon Claudia would grow to be a young woman, just as you have, though she wouldn't stop where you will have. She will age on to become an older woman. Each day she would grow older and older until one day she would die right before you. And there you'll be forever young, and now all alone, as has happened to me many, many times."

Appia's eyes lit up in the horror of Ailiea's words, "That is not what I wanted, not what I wanted at all!". She thought for a little while longer before she spoke again, "If that is to be how things turn out, then I won't ask this of you.".

* * *

Ailiea stayed there with them for many years more. After the sickness, it was awhile before Ailiea was fully recovered. She stayed on after this because Appia and little Claudia were family and she desired to be with family again. Though she often thought of traveling back to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, she finally decided against this as the shame of having failed to defend the Listener held her back from doing so. Often, she remembered the words of the Night Mother calling out to her as she had done years earlier. So when at last Ailiea finally decided that it was time for her to make way for Skyrim, Claudia was already a young woman all her own. Nearly ten years had passed since Ailiea had come to live with them. Though they were saddened to see her go, they knew that Ailiea's story was not to end with them. So, in order to thank them, Ailiea arranged for her entire accumulated wealth be transferred over to them; all 60,000 Septims of it.

After she made the necessary arrangements for the care of Appia and Claudia, she made her way to the city of Bruma. Once she arrived there, she made arrangements for all of her gear and her Dark Brotherhood Armor be moved to Falkreath ahead of her. After this was done, she took an extra day to visit the shattered remains of the Bruma Sanctuary where all of Cicero's brothers and sisters had died many and many years prior. After praying to the Dread Father for their souls, she made her way at last for the mountain pass which led through the Jerall Mountains and into Skyrim. One chapter of her adventures closed for the last time, while another one opened.


	4. Chapter 4

**If you're still reading this, then truly I am impressed; you've made it through all of the dry back story of the character. Now, on to the all too familiar entrance into Skyrim. Enjoy...**

* * *

Darkness again, though not the void this time. Though Ailiea was not yet conscious, she could still hear the sounds of a wagon moving down a stone road. Then, the more aware she became, the more she realized that she was riding in this wagon. She could feel it moving beneath her, feel all the bumps and the stones it was hitting. She was starting to become fully aware, so she slowly opened her eyes and looked all about. She was somewhere in the mountains, riding in a wagon which was actually descending from a rocky road. As her vision became less blurry, she saw an Imperial Soldier was leading the wagon, and in front of her there sat a soldier who was wearing a uniform which she did not recognize. As she tied to move, she fastly discovered that her hands were bound behind her back. she then realized that she must have been an Imperial prisoner, though under what charge and where they were headed was anyone's guess.

"Hey you, Elf. Finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush; the same as us, and that thief over there.", the soldier spoke to her. As she slowly looked to the man who was seated next to him, she saw that he was dressed only in a rough tunic. He was not wearing a uniform at all.

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could have stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell.", he looked to Ailiea before he continued on. "You there, Elf. You and me; we shouldn't be here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.". Ah, so these must be the Stormcloak Rebels which Ailiea had heard so much about recently. Ailiea's only question by that point was how she got mixed up with them as she had been traveling alone.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief.", the soldier answered the thief's words.

In front of them, the Imperial Soldier had grown annoyed with all the bickering which was happening behind his back, so he briefly turned and ordered them to silence. The Thief simply ignored the Imperial Soldier and talked on.

"What's wrong with him?", he gestured to the man sitting next to Ailiea, the man she hadn't yet seen. She saw that he was better dressed than any of them, likely Nobility of some kind. She also noticed that he was gagged for reasons unknown. Strangely, as Ailiea stared him down, he looked familiar to her, like she'd seen him somewhere. He, for his part, was staring through the thief and he refused to look at her.

"Watch your tongue, you're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak; the true High King!", Ulfric Stormcloak. That name also seemed awfully familiar to her. It was a name which she had heard somewhere before, not too long ago.

"Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm! You're the leader of the rebellion; but if they've captured you... oh, Gods; where are they taking us!", the thief cried out in terror. And it was at this point that Ailiea remembered. She remembered Ulfric from many years ago. She remembered how she had tormented him so, and she was sure that he, for his part, no doubt remembered her too; which likely explained why he had refused to acknowledge her so far.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovengarde awaits.", the soldier had far more baring than the thief, and seemed ready to meet his fate, come what may.

"No, this can't be happening, this isn't happening!"

"Hey; what village are you from, horse thief.", though Ailiea was sitting amongst them, they generally treated her as if she were not there. They never talked to her, and save for the thief, they never looked at her either.

"Why do you care?", the thief answered the Soldier.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.", came the soldier's calm reply. Though he had asked the thief a question, his own mind seemed to be dwelling on other thoughts, likely of his own home and family.

"Rorikstead; I'm... I'm from Rorikstead.", the thief spoke as the wagon neared the ancient stone walls of a city. As they grew closer to the city, she heard one of the Imperials calling out towards the city.

" General Tullius, sir; the headsman is waiting."

"Good, let's get this over with.", he answered.

At the sight of the city, the thief became increasingly paniced, "Stendarr, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh; Divines, please help me!". For a brief time after this, there was only silence as the wagon entered the city. As they passed, the Stormcloak soldier saw someone behind her, someone which she could not see.

"General Tullius, the military Governor; and it looks like the Thalmer are with him.", as he said this, his gaze fell on her, his eyes conveying the greatest sentiments of disgust. The Thalmer were there, and she knew why. Suddenly her entire situation made sense. Apparently, even after twenty six years, the Dominion had yet to forget the murder of Prince Elenmiar. It also seemed likely that she was still the most sought after criminal within the Dominion as a result of this. The Thalmer likely spotted her crossing the mountains into Skyrim and were quick to alert the Imperials as to her movements. Now that they had her, she could hear the Thalmer agents arguing with the one called General Tullius over custody of her. "Damn Elves,", the Stormcloak soldier spit at her, " I bet they had something to do with this!", then for a while he was silent before he continued on, "This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Veloud is still making that Mead with Juniper Berries mixed in. Funny; when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe. Back before you and your kind came along.". In his disgust, he spit at her again.

As the wagon rolled evermore into town, from somewhere in the background, Ailiea heard a young boy, "Who are they, Daddy. Where are they going?"

"You need to go inside.", came a man's response. He knew what was about to happen and he didn't want his son to see it.

"Why? I wanna watch the soldiers.", the boy retorted.

"Inside the house, Now!", she heard the man yell.

"Yes, Papa."

Then she looked forward and saw as another wagon stopped ahead of them. As their own wagon came up to it, they stopped as well. Then Ailiea heard a woman's voice, likely an Imperial Officer of some sort, ordering her men to unload the wagons.

"Why are we stopping!", asked the paniced thief.

The soldier, who was as calm as ever, gave his answer to the thief, "Why do you think? End of the line."

Imperial Soldiers stormed the wagon, helping each of them to their feet and bringing them from the wagon to stand them before a woman, likely the officer in charge. Yet still the Stormcloak soldier was calm.

"Let's go, shouldn't keep the Gods waiting for us."

The thief was more than just paniced now, she could see it in his eyes; he was about to make a run for it. "No, wait! We're not Rebels!", he yelled out.

As he heard this, the Stormcloak rolled his eyes and spoke once more to the thief in a voice which was still eerily calm, "Face your death with some courage, thief!"

"You've got to tell them, we weren't with you; this is a mistake!", the thief yelled to him. It didn't matter in the end though. The Woman continued on as though she hadn't even heard the debate.

"Step towards the block when we call your names, one at a time!"

As the Stormcloak soldier was brought to stand before her, he commented once more, "Empire loves their damn lists.".

Again ignoring their comments, another Imperial Soldier came forth and began to read names off of a list, "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Upon hearing his name, Ulfric stepped forward. As he did so, he came up from behind Ailiea, and as he passed her, he bumped her hard with his broad shoulder which caused her to drop to the ground before him. Once she was there, he began to kick her again and again, until two Imperial Soldiers pulled him away from her and escorted him to the Headsman. Even as he was dragged away, she could swear that she could still hear obscenities being yelled to her from behind his bounds. It was as if he wished to convey onto her that he had not forgotten her.

As he passed the Stormcloak soldier, she heard the soldier call out, " It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric.". Once he was pulled away, two more soldiers came and lifted Ailiea from the ground and returned her to standing before the soldier with the lists. Once she was there, he continued on like nothing had even happened.

"Relof of Riverwood.", upon hearing his name, the Stormcloak soldier stepped forward and was in turn escorted to the Headsman. The Imperial Solider read on.

"Lokir of Rorikstead.". At hearing his own name called, the thief finally broke down.

"No, I'm not a Rebel! You can't do this!", then he ran, just as Ailiea knew he would. Then she heard the female Officer yelling at him as he did so, ordering him to stop where he stood. At this, the thief simply yelled the they were not about to kill him, so she ordered archers to engage him. Within a matter of seconds, the thief lay dead in the streets, with at least a dozen arrows lodged in his corpse.

"Anyone else feel like running?", the captain asked, gazing down the remainder of the prisoners. Again, the soldier took to his list as if nothing had even transpired. When he saw Ailiea, the only Elfin prisoner, he checked his list. Upon finding no Elfin name listed there, he called out to her.

"Wait, you there; step forward. Who are you?"

Before she could answer, General Tullius came to him, with Thalmer agents hot on his heels.

"Forget this one, Legionnaire; she belongs to the Thalmer. As soon as she's gone to the block, the Thalmer will be taking her body from us.".

"By your orders, Sir.", with that, General Tullius and the Thalmer agents backed away from her. With this said, the female Officer took a hold of Ailiea's arm and escorted her to the line of prisoners waiting for their turn upon the block. As she was pushed into the line of doomed men, she watched as General Tullius walked up to Ulfric Stormcloak and begin to speak.

"Ulfric Stormcloak; some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero does not use a power like the voice to murder his King and Usurp his throne.", at the General's sentiment, Ulfric just grunted. At this, the General simply continued on with his words. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos. And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace.".

Just as General Tullius finished with his words, there came a loud roar from beyond the mountains. Upon hearing it, all who were there stopped where they were and looked to the sky. From somewhere in the crowd, Ailiea heard someone asking about the strange sound.

"It's nothing, carry on.", she heard the General say to his subordinate. But Ailiea knew better. She knew it was anything but nothing. This was a sound the likes of which she had not heard in many and many thousands of years; not since...

All she heard after this was a Priestess of Arkay giving the condemned men their last rites. Though, no sooner had she started then a man came up to her.

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with.", at his words, the Priestess was obviously annoyed, but she did what was asked of her and she walked away, her sermon only half preached.

"Come on, I haven't got all morning!", the condemned man yelled to the Headsman. At that, the female Officer pushed him to the ground, that his head may lay upon the surface of the block. As his head was upon the block, he spoke to them one last time, "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials; can you say the same!". Then a large axe was brought down upon his neck. At this, his head went one way, his body the other. In the crowd there came much yelling, some condemning the act, some condoning it. Ailiea heard the Stormcloak called Relof commenting on how the deceased man was just as brave in death as in life.

Once this was done, the female Officer next looked to Ailiea, "Next, the Elf in the rags.". As the soldiers took a hold of her and escorted her to the block, there came a monstrous roar from the mountains again. As before, those who were present went to looking to the sky once more, so as to ascertain the origin of the sound. Yet the sky was as clear as when they first heard it. Ailiea knew that it was getting close, so she began to brace herself for its arrival. She was so concentrated on waiting for its arrival that she hadn't even realized that she was on the block until she felt the warm, sweet smelling blood before her. Now, she was looking up at the Headsman, or rather behind him; for the creature on which she was waiting for had finally arrived.

"What in Oblivion is that!", she heard a soldier yell.

"Sentries, what do you see!", the female Officer cried out.

And just as the Headsman brought his axe up over his head, a great and terrible dragon, horns spiking out in all directions and as black as the darkest ebony, landed upon the top of a tower. The sheer force of its landing knocked the Headsman from his stance so that soon he was joined with Ailiea upon the ground. The great beast's back was arched, and his wings were outreached before him, with his head held high, high above all else. The dragon fumed, covering himself in a massive fog of smoke and death, and the sky itself grew dark and seemed to draw itself around the whole of the world. Then the sky itself began to show a terrible sanguine, and fire fell from the skies; the wrath of the World-Eater was upon them. From out of the smoke Ailiea could still see his red eyes, glowing fiercely and with all the intensity of vengeance, and fixated squarely upon her. Everyone around her began flee in terror at the sheer sight of the beast.

The Beast began to yell, and a terrible wind echoed across the whole of the city. Though others only heard the roar, she heard his words, as if in her head.

_Ah, there you are, my little Ailiea; I've found you at last. Now I shall avenge myself upon you..._

Hearing his terrible words, she gave him her answer.

_I am not so easy to kill as this, Alduin._

Angered by her words, the great beast made for her, but in the ensuing chaos, he lost her. So, he flew though the town instead, destroying all in his sight.

As she was still bound, she was quite unable to fight. So, instead, she ran through the streets, making for cover so that the beast may not find her. The screams of the dying and the sickly sweet smell of the dead filled the air, much as it had upon the Imperial City when she was there many and many years ago. She could hear that the beast was still seeking her out, but it had yet to find her. She could hear it as it roared out in frustration, sending fire down upon those hapless people unfortunate to catch his gaze. She could hear the blood curdling cries and the shrieks of those who had been caught in the inferno which he had created; all of the men, and the women, and even the children; Alduin was indiscriminate in who he chose to kill.

As she ran, she saw an Imperial Soldier, helping to insure that a small group of the frightened Townsfolk may make for the city gates, and from there to the safety of the forests beyond. She recognized him from earlier in the day; he was the one with the lists. As he made his way, collecting as many of the living as he could, he came across her, and all at once, his heart went out to her. There, upon the ground, she presented a truly pitiful picture to him. She looked in need of saving. So, as being as good and as honorable a man as he was, he freed her that she may go on living. Once this was done, the beast finally took sight of her, and landed before her and the Soldier.

_I have you now..._

She could hear his words again. As he made her world bright with fire, the Soldier ran with the people in tow away from the great beast, while Ailiea found her way farther into the ravaged city, that she may continue to hide. Yet the beast was relentless in his chase. He gave Ailiea no rest as he flew about her, crushing building after building around her as he tried in vain to get at her. He chased her straight to the walls of the great city, cornering her that she may no longer run. Now that he had her, he let loose a great wave of fire and death upon her that he may finally end her. True to her word, however, Ailiea would not be that easy to kill. Gathering her mana (as the mer folk called their magic), she cast a ward about her person which absorbed the brunt of his blast, taking the bite out of his vengeance.

Though the ward had protected her, it also had the undesired affect of weakening her, so that when the great beast made for her with his talons she was unable to fend him off. He took her, and he attempted to fly away with her, but she refused to go along willingly. Gathering her mana once more, she forced an icy spear through his scales. Though this would prove insufficient in truly hurting the great beast, it provided enough of a shock which caused him to drop her back down into the city below. She fell through straw roofing and landed upon the planks of the building's second floor. The hard landing stole the wind from her body, and she felt that she likely broke something in the fall, though she would still prefer this to Alduin's vengeance.

Slowly making her way to her feet, she dropped down onto the ground floor of the building, and all at once, she became aware of shouting. As she made her way back into the street, she came face to face with the same Imperial Soldier from earlier. As he saw her, a look of surprise was evident on his face.

"Still alive, prisoner? Stay close to me if you want to stay that way.", he offered to her. Feeling that if the beast found her again she could likely use him as a sort of human shield, she followed the Soldier along the road as he went. As they ran, she saw the great beast flying not too far from them, and it looked as though he might land. Seeing this, the soldier yelled for her to stick to the walls. As they did so, the great beast landed before them upon the crest of the wall. The beast knew that she was close, yet he could not see her, so he screamed out in frustration, causing the air about him to catch fire. And with that, he left the wall and went once more into the air. With the beast gone, they made for the safety of the keep.

* * *

After they had finally made good their escape from Helgen, the stopped just before the wilderness that they may catch their breath. As they did this, they heard the terrible howling of the great beast as he flew high above them, making once more for the mountains. With that, the World-Eater had finally gone. Breathing a great sigh of relief, the soldier took this opportunity to study the Elfin prisoner. She knelt before him, far more fatigued that he for reasons unknown. She was wearing the Imperial Light armor which she had taken from the Armory found within the keep, and on her back she wore a quiver full of steel arrows and an Imperial Light bow. On her side, she wore an Imperial sword. She had taken the liberty of removing her helmet that she may better feel of the cool breeze, which gave him a real good view of her face for the first time that day. She cut a mean figure in the Imperial uniform. It was as if she were made to wear it, as if she were used to wearing uniforms.

She was beautiful, the most beautiful Elfin woman he had ever seen, though in truth he hadn't seen many. And as he thought this through, his mind wondered as to what crimes she had committed to warrant her seeing the Headsman. Seeing as she looked to be an Altmer woman, he asked her the first thing which came to mind, "Are you a Thalmer agent?".

Hearing his question, she merely scoffed at the idea of being associated in such a manner as that, and with them no less. He took this as a resounding no, so he moved on. "Well, you have military training, that much is evident. I can see this clearly by the way you handled yourself back there. Have you served?".

"What business is it of yours?", she asked him bluntly, very nearly cutting him off.

"Well, if you haven't, you should consider joining up with the 6th Legion here in Skyrim. Gods know we could use someone with your abilities.". At the suggestion that she join up with an army she had fought against only recently, she began to laugh a little. As laughter is contagious, he began to laugh a little as well.

"What's so funny?", he asked of her after his laughter subsided.

"What makes you think I would be interested in joining an army which tried to execute me, when I had done nothing wrong?", she felt it better she tell him this rather than let slip that she was a Dominion soldier not too long ago.

The truth in her words was like a bitter thorn in his side as he knew there was logic in her words. So, he said the only thing he could think to say to her, "I am sorry that happened to you, I really am.". Like his apology was supposed to make everything better. She never answered him, so he continued on. "Listen, I'm headed for Riverwood. I've family there. Why don't you come along, it's the very least I could do. We could provide you with food and bedding and help you along to where ever it was you were going.".

"Thanks for the offer, but I've places which I need to be. With that, I'll take my leave of you." As Ailiea turned to walk away from him, he called out to her once more.

"My name's Hadvar, by the way. Can you at the very least tell me yours?", he asked of her.

With her back still to him, she turned her head ever so slightly that she may catch a slight glimpse of him before she left. "My name is Anna Nymous.", she said to him, through pouted lips. And with that, she left him there, mouth aghast at her peculiar answer, and she disappeared into the forests. Now finally in Skyrim and free once more, she started the trek to Falkreath so as to collect her things that she may drop the Imperial Armor as soon as possible.


End file.
